Well, the Wii U finally has arrived with Nintendo’s launch of the Wii U in the US at midnight Sunday. The launch keeps Nintendo’s tradition of launching new consoles on Sunday alive for the next launch. As we already know, supplies on the console are tight, but a check with local retailers revealed that at least some units were available and sold Sunday to those that didn’t already have a pre-order, so it is at least possible that some scattered units might be available for sale.

Independent retailers that we spoke with expressed surprise that they received a unit or two more than they had pre-sold, which was a welcomed surprise. As one retailer told us, “We didn’t accept very many pre-orders, and the pre-orders that we did accept were from our best and most valued customers. We received enough units to fill those pre-orders plus a few extra units to sell, which was very surprising, indeed. Still, we are not getting our hopes up that we will be able to continue to have units in stock through the holiday season. Our distributor is already telling us again that they expect supplies to remain tight and to expect orders not to be completely filled.”

The biggest news about the Wii U is that once you get it hooked up, you will be subjected to what can only be described as a big day one update. Without this update, we would agree with those who suggest the console is basically useless, and downloading the update will save some time. (Our experience was over one hour to download and 30 minutes to install!) By the way, the day one update delivers Miiverse, eShop, the Internet Browser, and the important backward compatibility with the Wii. Without the update, none of these are available to the owner. (Nintendo is claiming that the day one patch was necessary to give the maximum time to the developers to work on the code for the system and deliver the best day one experience possible.)

As has been reported elsewhere, the menu system can be best described as “sluggish” and the process of changing games is kind of a pain and needs improvement, for sure. Reports of issues with charging the GamePad have been noted, as well as some issues with the signal range of the GamePad; but we have yet to experience those issues.

While we would agree that the Wii U is innovative, we have to say that so far the graphics performance does not add up to what we already have seen in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but Nintendo is saying that it was not supposed to. However, it is taking risks with this console that the existing units are not; but that alone just might not be enough for some buyers. Still, Nintendo fans will be pleased that it is finally a reality.

ADATA Technology has released its XPG SX300 and Premier Pro SP300 SSDs.

The company said that both are geared towards consumers who wish to get the most out of recently released motherboards that have built-in mSATA sockets. By using an mSATA SSD as a cache drive instead of main storage, systems can reach speed boosts comparable to systems with SSDs as primary drive.

The XPG SX300 has a SATA 6Gbit/sec interface, and is targeted towards power users who demand the utmost in speed and capacity. Read and write speeds reach an impressive 550 and 505 MB/sec respectively, with maximum 4K random write of 85,000 IOPs. With capacities of 64, 128, and 256GB in such a small form factor, the SX300 brings the full power of solid state technology to the mSATA field.

The Premier Pro SP300 has a SATA 3Gbit/sec interface, and is an economical upgrade option. Read and write speeds reach 280 and 260 MB/sec respectively, with maximum 4K random write of 46,000 IOPs. Capacities of 24, 32, and 64GB allow for use in conjunction with a larger but slower mechanical drive, making the SP300 an extremely cost-effective route for increasing system speed.

The prices are $109.99 for SX300 64GB, $179.99 for SX300 128GB, $349.99 for SX300 256GB, $59.99 for SP300 24GB, $69.99 for SP300 32GB and $103.99 for SP300 64GB.

Yahoo is joining the browser race with its rather awkwardly named Axis browser.

The new browser is said to feature a novel approach to UI design and it should make browsing more intuitive and visual. Axis is available as a browser extension for Chrome, Safari and Firefox, as well as a standalone app for iOS. An Android app is also on the way.

Like the latest iterations of Google’s Chrome browser, Axis also enables users to share their tabs between various platforms. Social networking integration is also on board to make sharing easier.

Sounds promising, but there are also some issues. CNET reports that a blogger has uncovered a vulnerability in the Axis Chrome extension. Apparently the extension leaks private certificate info and allows hackers to counterfeit extensions, this capturing all web traffic, including passwords.

So, Rockstar launched Max Payne 3 and the troubled detective continues his journey through all things bloody and time-warped. We’re talking about the North American launch so Europeans will have to wait for Friday.

The game follows good ol’ gun-slinging pill-popping detective Payne through his new job of private bodyguard of a wealthy Brazilian businessman Rodrigo Branco and his wife Fabiana. Fabiana gets kidnapped and all hell breaks loose, as we’ve learned to expect.

This time around, the game comes with an online multiplayer with a number of co-op and competitive modes, such as free-for-all, Payne Killer or the “dynamically branching” Gang Wars mode. In fact, this is the first title to feature the company’s Crews system, where clans can play together, ally and fight each other. The clans will be able to monitor progress of rival gangs and Crew Feuds through the Social Club.

The game is currently available only for Xbox 360 and PS3. PC players on the other hand have to wait until May 29 in North America and June 1 in Europe.

You can check out the trailer here. And sweet zombie Jesus what music, somebody should’ve given these guys a grammy or something long ago.

Marvell announced mass deployment of the Marvel 88SS9187 SATA controller fueled by high performance embedded processor technology. The 88SS9187 features a six gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) SATA Revision 3.1 compliant host interface optimised for the fast-growing solid state drive (SSD) sector.

It is being targeted for the consumer, mobile and enterprise markets. A significant number of high-profile SSD manufacturers are set to deploy Marvell’s newest solution immediately, with additional partners expected to integrate 88SS9187 implementations later this year.

Marvell’s newest SSD controller boasts an open architecture that supports industry-standard, high-speed NAND Flash interface up to 200MB/s per channel. The 88SS9187 also has new correction capability thanks to its high performance ECC engine with Adaptive Read and Write Scheme and on-chip RAID functionality to allow use of the latest generation of NAND Flash devices in the fast-growing SSD markets.

Alan Armstrong, vice president of Marketing for the Storage Business Group at Marvell Semiconductor said that the technology allowed SSD manufacturers to fully customise their products to meet specific customer demands and distinguish their products based on price, performance, power and functionality.

Microsoft has released the beta version of a new security tool which allows users to remove rootkits and other dangerous malware from the system. The Windows Defender Offline has been designed for computer systems that are infected with malware to the point of not being able to boot and connect to the internet properly.

The beta tool allows users to create a recovery CD/DVD or USB stick and use it to boot Windows. It comes with the virus definitions, which allows users to clean their system even when it is dead.

Apparently the tool has a greater chance of discovering and removing malware because users are not running the software through the infected Windows platform installed in their PC, but rather through a recovery disk. The tool supports Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and 2 and Windows 7 Service Pack 1. The tool also supports the developer preview version of Windows 8.

According to its Windows Defender Offline page the Windows Defender Offline Beta can detect malicious and potentially unwanted software, and then notify you of the risks.

After years of waiting and hoping, DirecTV has finally released a new HD DVR powered by TiVo. The new HD DirecTiVo is model THR22 as has been rumored. What it offers, however, might not be what DirecTV subscribers that are TiVo fans were really hoping for.

To start with, DirecTV has soft launched the THR22 in only 10 cities initially, and subscribers in those 10 cities can order the THR22 starting today. Subscribers in other cities will have to wait till sometime after the first of the year. DirecTV has not been specific on their full launch plan for the THR22 beyond saying, “The TiVo HD DVR from DirecTV will be available nationwide in early 2012,” which could mean just about anything with all of the delays that the release of the THR22 has encountered.

As for the THR22 itself, it is a TiVo and it runs the TiVo OS, but not a version of the latest release. Instead, it uses something that looks and acts very close to a slightly enhanced version of the TiVo interface that we saw in the last version of the older standard definition TiVo models in the 2.xx family. The receiver itself is built upon the DirecTV HR22 platform, but from our understanding these are new boxes, not recycled or used units with the TiVo software loaded on them. This news has already thrown a red flag up for some.

In addition, it lacks a number of the features found in the latest generation of DirecTV HD DVR offerings. For example, it lacks 3D support, DirecTV on-demand streaming, multi-room support, You Tube streaming, and those are just the major differences. It does not offer the additional services and streaming offerings found in the latest generation of TiVo.

The THR22 comes with only a 500GB hard drive, which is pretty much standard for DirecTV DVR models. It can support the add-on AM21 terrestrial HD tuner and can record from it. It supports recording of all DirecTV MPEG 4 encoded satellite streams. It offers two-tuner support with the ability to record two shows while watching a third show. It comes with the TiVo peanut remote, but it is DirecTV remote compatible only, so you can’t use the high-end TiVo slider remote with keyboard with it.

Despite all of this, if you still want the THR22 it is going to cost you $199 plus shipping and you have to agree to a 2-year commitment for it. In addition, as with DirecTV receivers the THR22 is leased, which makes the possibility of upgrading it tricky at best. The unit is subject to a TiVo/DVR fee, of course, as well as the monthly receiver fee.

Given all of this, there will still be many that want it and will gladly upgrade to it; while others believe that it is a release with a very short life span. as its feature set simply isn’t as good as what is offered by the latest DirecTV DVR units. Still, with the ability to upgrade the unit, should it become more popular than expected it is possible development and upgrades could be headed the THR22’s way, but it will have to become popular and DirecTV will have to move a lot of units before they will choose to do more with the TiVo platform. In its current release state, however, it may just be far too little and far too late.

Seagate is shipping its second generation of Momentus XT, solid state hybrid drive for consumer and commercial laptops.

It is claiming that it is the company’s fastest drive ever for personal computers. It means that users can boost boot-up speed and overall performance.

Already seven OEMs are gearing up to flog laptops based around the Momentus XT. The drive is now available at online retailers Amazon, Canada Computers, CDW, Memory Express, NCIX, Newegg, and TigerDirect.

The Momentus XT drive uses Seagate’s Adaptive Memory and FAST Factor technologies. Adaptive Memory technology works by identifying data usage patterns, and then moving the most frequently retrieved information to solid state memory for faster access.

Adaptive Memory effectively tailors hard drive performance to each user and the applications they use. FAST Factor technology blends the strengths of SSDs and hard disk drives for faster access to applications, quicker bootup and higher overall system speed.

John Rydning, research vice president at IDC said that high-speed storage devices make a difference when it comes to improving overall PC performance. He thinks that the Momentus gives notebook PC users an economical option for boosting PC performance while at the same time providing spacious storage capacity all in one device.

The Momentus XT drive is nearly 70 percent faster than the prior Momentus drive version and up to three times faster than a traditional hard disk drive while providing 750GB of storage capacity. Its Serial ATA 6Gb/second interface and 8 gigabytes of Single Level Cell NAND flash double the interface and NAND read-write speed of the previous generation.

The Momentus XT drive is now shipping in volume worldwide. A 750GB drive will cost $245.

Intel has released a rather interesting Sandy Bridge processor that might very well have the lowest TDP of any non-Atom desktop processor to date.

The Pentium 350 is a dual-core 32nm processor based on the Sandy Bridge architecture and it’s clocked at just 1.2GHz, making for a very energy efficient LGA 1155 package with a 15W TDP. The polar bear friendly chips lacks onboard graphics, but it supports hyperthreading and comes with a rather generous 3MB of L3 cache.

To put things in perspective, the most power efficient Sandy Bridge parts in the desktop segment have a 35W TDP, and 15W is pretty impressive even by mobile standards. For example, the 1.2GHz Pentium U5400 has an 18W TDP. The new Pentium 350 appears to be a derivative of low-voltage Xeon chips, since it supports ECC memory and does not have integrated graphics.

It sounds like an excellent choice for tiny home servers, maybe even HTPC builds and other small form factor machines with an emphasis on low power consumption and noiseless operation. However, Intel has a tendency to slap pretty high price tags on its ultra low voltage parts, so don’t expect it to come cheap.

AMD has made the final version of the Catalyst 11.9 drivers available for Windows users. As in the previous version of the package, most desktop and laptop DirectX 10 and 11 GPUs are supported, but Windows 7 users need Service Pack 1 to be installed.

The new drivers enable 3D support via DisplayPort and AMD tells us that the Samsung 750 and 950 displays are specifically supported. This time there are no particular performance enhancements listed for any games, though hanging and crashing issues in several games have been resolved.

The new drivers can be downloaded from AMD's web site, through the Catalyst software's automatic updater, or via Steam. The final version of the 11.10 drivers will replace the 11.9 drivers when they're made available next month.